Please, Let The Saints And Packers Play Again

Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers should battle for a Super Bowl berth

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) passes in the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in New Orleans, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

Power rankings. You hate them. They’re so arbitrary and pointless, especially when they include all 32 NFL teams. All you want to know after a good week of NFL action is who the bestest team in the NFL right now, and which one is the absolute barrel-scraping worst. That’s why we have TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE NFL, where we go to great lengths to tell you who’s the top dog in football right now, this very minute. LET’S GO!

THE TOP: Green Bay Packers

You know, if Sean Payton had been a better goal line play-caller in the very first game of the season, the road to the Super Bowl through the NFC easily could have gone through New Orleans. Remember: Drew Brees drove the Saints all the way to the one-yard-line in the season opener against the Packers. Then Payton took the ball out of Brees' hands on the final play, the Saints got stoned at the goal line, and the Packers won by eight points.

If the Saints had scored, gotten the 2-point conversion, and then won in overtime, these team would have identical records. That's how close the Saints and Packers are right now. For the good of football, I really don't want any other matchup in the NFC title game. I can't imagine Niners-Packers or Giants-Saints being as compelling as a second showdown between Brees and Aaron Rodgers. That would be a game on par with the old Aikman/Young showdowns of the early 1990s. I can't wait.

THE BOTTOM: St. Louis Rams

Look at all these teams out there that are NOT sucking for Andrew Luck. You've got the Colts winning two in a row. You've got the Vikings winning on the road in Washington. You've got the Dolphins rebounding from 0-7. I am personally DISGUSTED with these outright displays of professionalism. Whatever happened to mailing it in? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!

Anyway, it's not difficult to imagine the Colts beating the Jags this weekend, with the Rams losing to San Fran and finishing with the league's worst record. And that, my friends, would put the Rams in something of a pickle. You can't just trade away Sam Bradford after throwing down $50 million on him, can you? Can you? Hoo boy, this is gonna be fun. Someone's feelings are gonna get hurt.